In 1993, graphic designers Markus and Daniel Freitag were looking for a functional, water-repellent and robust bag to hold their creative work. Inspired by the multicolored heavy traffic that rumbled through the Zurich transit intersection in front of their flat, they developed a messenger bag from used truck tarpaulins, discarded bicycle inner tubes and car seat belts. This is how the first FREITAG bags took shape in the living room of their shared apartment – each one recycled, each one unique. With their innovation, the brothers inadvertently triggered a seismic event in the world of bag making. Its tremors have since made themselves felt in Zurich and the cities of Europe and spread all the way to Asia, making FREITAG the unofficial outfitter of all urban, bike-riding individualists.

The free exhibition presents a piece of Swiss design history with products from the Zurich-based business archives that has been producing individual bags made of used truck tarpaulins for almost 30 years and, in the process, has become a model of the creative economy. Each archival piece on exhibit is a snapshot in FREITAG’s history that tells a story and is also a reflection of the trends of those days.